


Coinciding Moments: Turbulent Emotions

by redlerred7



Series: Coinciding Moments [3]
Category: Lucky Star (Manga)
Genre: Drama, F/F, Friendship, Gen, POV Multiple, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 12:24:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14894600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redlerred7/pseuds/redlerred7
Summary: Summer vacation ends and it's back to school for the Lucky Star girls. But alas, the arrival of second trimester also brought with it stormy days in both a literal and metaphoric sense. How long will the rain and drama rage on before it subsides?[AU, MultiPOV, Romance, Drama, Friendship](This story was already pre-made and was simply transfered to AO3 from Fanfiction.net. The quality of earlier chapters may not be comparable to later ones)





	1. The second trimester begins

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be out in 2015 but I messed up, put it off, and eventually forgot.
> 
> This is gonna be a lazy transfer so don't expect it to have better spelling or grammar than the FF.net version. It also has a TERRIBLE sense of time. Yeah, I wasn't paying attention to the dates of things when I wrote this. Keep that in mind when something doesn't make sense
> 
> Enjoy if you can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'd think summer would last forever, huh? Well, it doesn't. Here's "The second trimester begins"

**LUCKY STAR**

After the events of that weekend in the middle of summer, the lives of Konata & Yutaka, Miyuki & Minami, Kagami & Tsukasa, and Misao had taken a turn for the better – "better" being relative.

Sojiro finally got another job and was sustaining the Izumi household as best he could. At least they didn't need to worry about having food or running water anymore.

Yukari, now with no reason to hide her dislike of Minami and her relationship with Yutaka, was more open with everyone. The Iwasaki and Takara daughters, despite the unhidden dislike, were now more comfortable being in the same room as her, and were quite amused when Yukari began retorting to Honka's teasing. Their back and forth was reminiscent of Konata and Kagami before they got girlfriends.

Speaking of Kagami, the Hiiragi household returned to its routine of Tsukasa waking up late and forgetting about studying while Kagami was picking up the slack, trying her hardest to get her sister ready for college the entrance tests that year. Truth be told, going back to the familiar humdrum of their lives before that day a month ago felt surreal. Kagami wasn't quite sure what to make of it – and as far as the twin-tailed girl could tell, her twin hadn't realized the change at all.

Misao, still part of the track team, still energetic and seemingly carefree, and still Kagami's girlfriend, also had her life return to the state of normalcy it once had. It was a relief for Misao as the early to middle parts of summer was filled with too many serious matters to talk about. It was a breath of fresh air for her to go from relationship drama back to fun times with friends.

All that said, better is still not good. Yutaka never found out what her mother and Sojiro were talking about over the phone that one night. Konata and Tsukasa, despite taking an enormous leap in their relationship that particular morning, felt that each still saw the other as a friend more than a lover. Yukari and Minami, despite being more comfortable around each other, still had strained relations. Kagami was the worst off, her feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness of being with Misao threatened to overcome her whenever she thought about it too much – and it was worse when she was alone. The only one who probably WAS better off was Hiyori.

Hiyori Tamura, raven haired, glasses wearing doujin artist, decided to take Patricia Martin, blonde and busty American exchange student, on her offer of "more" – "More" being a chance to receive more physical affection from the blonde, i.e. hugs, kisses, etc…

The two began dating in the middle of summer and until the very end of summer, they stayed together.

Speaking of the end of summer…

**LUCKY STAR**

"Good morning Shiraishi-san." Miyuki greeted as she entered the classroom

"Early again, I see"

"It's the start of a new trimester. I thought it would be a good idea to come early." Miyuki put her bag on her chair and walked out the door. "Besides, the class representatives have a meeting this morning. I'll see you in class, Shiraishi-san"

"See you, Takara-san" Minoru saluted a goodbye.

On her way to the student council office, Miyuki bumped into a lavender haired twin-tailed girl while turning a corner. "Oh, good morning Kagami-san"

"Sorry, Miyuki-san. I shouldn't have been standing behind that corner." Kagami said quickly

"Not to worry. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going." Miyuki assured her. "Are you headed for the student council office?"

"Yeah. We have a meeting, right?"

"Then let's go together" Miyuki smiled and gestured for the two of them to start walking. And walk they did. "Is Tsukasa-san with you?"

"No. She's still asleep…" Kagami sighed "…Like she always is"

"I'm a bit surprised, though. Hasn't Tsukasa been waking up earlier as of late?"

"Er…" Kagami scratched her head. "Well… you remember that sleepover we had a week ago? She seemed to go back to normal after that"

"Hmm… That's quite strange…" The pinkette noted. "But not entirely unlikely."

"Oh, did you bring an umbrella today?"

"Why… no." Miyuki raised an eyebrow to the unexpected question. "Did the forecast say there would be rain today?"

"Not really, but they said there was a chance that it might if you stay out late enough." Kagami explained "I thought 'better safe than sorry' so I brought a foldable kind" She rummaged her bag and pulled out a folding umbrella – the automatic push-button kind.

"That's a lovely umbrella." Miyuki examined it. The design was rather minimalistic, having only primary colors and basic shapes on the fabric but it looked to have a pattern that was pleasing to look at if it were unfurled. "Oh, this is the birthday gift I gave you"

"Yeah" Kagami smirked "Not saying I want it to rain, but it would be nice to break this thing in"

"Actually, umbrellas were originally made to shade you from the sun" Miyuki commented

"Really…? Huh…" Kagami seemed surprised by that information.

"Don't worry. In modern times, the term umbrella is used when it shields from the rain. It's an unofficial distinction that a parasol is what is used to shade from the sun, although they do both jobs equally well."

"Well, that was certainly some interesting trivia." Kagami remarked "I swear, is there anything you _don't_ know"

"Oh, I don't know everything. I know only what I know" Miyuki said modestly. Kagami blinked then shook her head, as if remembering something she shouldn't. _Did I say something wrong?_ Miyuki wondered

They reached the student council office and entered in preparation for the meeting. Now they need only wait for the other class reps to arrive.

**LUCKY STAR**

"Good morning, Kona-chan" The lavender-haired air head smiled as she waved hello.

"Good morning Konata-san, Tsukasa-san" Miyuki entered the room and greeted her friends.

"Good morning Yuki-chan"

"How was your summer, moe goddess Miyuki." Konata said with a dramatic bow – a bit difficult considering she was sitting at her desk.

"It was not very eventful summer, unfortunately." Miyuki commented "But it was fun nonetheless"

Tsukasa tilted her head slightly "Hey, Yuki-chan"

"Yes?"

"You're normally the first one to class. How come you weren't here when I arrived?" Tsukasa asked curiously

"Well, I'm not really the first person to get here. That title goes to Shiraishi-san."

"Sebastian?" Konata asked "He's the first to class?"

"Er… yes." Miyuki sweat dropped "Anyway, I arrived here shortly before varsity practice began." The school sports teams began morning practice at least an hour prior to the start of school. "I went to a class representatives' meeting… Then I wandered the school a bit while I waited for class to start"

"Wow Yuki-chan. I never knew you woke up so early." Tsukasa said in wonder.

"It's not surprising. You have a curfew don't you?" Konata noted

"Yes. Nine o'clock. But I've recently had it pushed back to as late as ten."

"Hey Tsukasa, don't you go to sleep at nine as well?" Konata asked

"Er… I do?" Tsukasa doesn't check the clock before she goes to sleep so she doesn't know. Not being able to give an answer she just pouted and hung her head, blushing.

"You're cute when you do that" Konata commented, which caused Tsukasa to cover her cheeks and walk to her seat, obviously embarrassed at the compliment. Konata smiled "She's cute isn't she?"

"Yes." Miyuki looked at Tsukasa. She was holding her hands up to her cheeks and shaking her head excitedly. She was like a smitten school girl, which she incidentally was. Miyuki glanced at the person who cause the reaction and saw that she was still staring at Tsukasa. "Yes, she certainly is" Miyuki smiled and returned to her seat.

The bell rang and a voice called from the door. "Alright, class. Quiet down. It's the first day of school after summer vacation, let's not start it off by being more annoying than you already are." Nanako Kuroi walked into the room, apparently in a bad mood. "So to start off this trimester, let's have attendance. Izumi!"

Konata raised her hand with a smug smile. "Here"

"Really now?" Ms. Kuroi said in surprise. "I expected you to be late… Ah whatever" She waved off her disbelief. "You're off to a good start, Izumi. Let's hope it lasts till the end of the school year"

"It might, but I wouldn't get your hopes up." Konata replied

"Ha! Like I'd ever do THAT" Kuroi laughed

"…" Konata felt a little hurt from the low expectations but didn't really mind.

And so began the second trimester of that year.

**LUCKY STAR**

"Good afternoon, Nurse Amahara." Yutaka chimed as she and Minami entered the room. Minami nodded her greeting as well

"Oh, good afternoon. How was your summer?" Fuyuki Amahara, the nurse asked cheerfully. "Oh, we're using a different brand of your medicine now." She said cheerfully "If it works as well as it should, we'll have saved you a couple hundred yen." She winked and shifting though her stuff.

"Our summer was fun" Yutaka answered happily. "And thank you."

"Did you find anything remotely supernatural in the summer?" Nurse Amahara asked.

"Eh…" Yutaka sweat dropped. "I'm sorry Nurse Amahara, we didn't find any" Every Monday she asked if they saw ghosts or some similar phenomena over the weekend. They always said no but it seemed it made no difference to her as she always asked again. It was no surprise that she asked on the first day of the new trimester.

"Really? That's a shame."

"Yutaka" Minami handed her a glass of water. She looked at the nurse and held up a bottle of tablets, looking for confirmation.

"Yes, that's the one."

Minami nodded and gave Yutaka a single tablet from the container. The rosy redhead drank it, as gasp escaping her lips when she finished.

"Oh, and by the way, the drowsiness side effect you get from your previous brand of medicine is still present in this one. I just needed to inform you"

Minami looked at the bottle again, and she found a little foot note on the label with the side effects written. Sure enough, 'mild drowsiness' was there.

"Just be careful not to fall asleep in class" Minami warned.

"Okay" Yutaka got off the bed and the two of them began walking out the nurse's office. "Goodbye nurse Amahara."

"Take care now. Be sure to tell me about any paranormal activity you might find."

The door closed and the two students walked back to class.

"Oh, Minami, can we stop by the cafeteria?" Yutaka asked as she passed by the hall leading to said room. "I need to go buy lunch"

"You didn't bring lunch?"

"No. It's cheaper to buy food here. At least that's what I was told."

The mint haired girl blinked. "We could always have my lunch." She suggested

"What? No, that's _your_ lunch. You should be the one to eat it" The shorter girl said

"I'm not that hungry. I think I can survive a day without lunch."

"No. Minami, it's _yours_." Yutaka insisted.

Minami looked down and muttered. "… What if we share…?"

Yutaka tilted her head slightly. "…Eh…?"

"… We could share my lunch…" Minami said, eyes fixed on a single point in the air in front of her. "… I'd like to feed you…" Minami's face grew red slightly

"… Oh…" Yutaka blushed "… I'd like that too…"

After a few seconds of awkward relative-silence as they stood in the bustling cafeteria hallway, they began walking once more to the classroom, hand in hand.

**LUCKY STAR**

"I've always wanted to eat lunch up here!" Patricia said enthusiastically. "It's like were anime protagonists!"

They had gone to the roof. Technically, students weren't allowed to eat there. But no one was around and Patricia happened to know how to pick locks.

"Patty-chan, I'm not sure we should stay here…" Hiyori said nervously

"Oh, relax. It's not like anyone goes up here anyway" Patricia waved of her lover's concerns and examined the area.

It was flat, concrete, and surrounded by a chain-link fence – not particularly eye-catching. Patricia was not impressed "Tell me, why do anime protags like eating here?"

"Erm… I don't really know." Hiyori had set a handkerchief on the floor and was sitting on it, getting ready to eat. "Maybe it's the view?"

Patricia leaned on the fence and looked down on the campus. "Looks about as good as it does on the ground." She deadpanned. Sighing, she sat down in front of Hiyori and watched her eat.

It took the glasses-girl a few minutes to notice the rather intense stare Patricia was giving her. And when she did… "Wha! Why are you staring at me!?"

"I'm bored and hungry" The blond said said, not taking her eyes off of the other

"Er… If you don't have money to buy some, you could always share some of mine" Hiyori said nervously.

"It's not exactly that kind of hunger…" Patricia said with a mischievous grin

"Um…" _What is she planning? Knowing Patricia, it could be anything…_

"Oh, don't mind me for now. Just keep eating"

With apprehension in her stomach, Hiyori ate as fast as possible before her appetite lessens any more. _Whatever she's planning, I want it over with as fast as possible_.

As Hiyori finished eating her food and packing her lunch box, Patricia leaned over to her. "Remember when I said I was hungry?" _Oh boy…_ "I was sorta craving a taste…" _Is this gonna go the way I think it will…?_ "of you…" _… Well…_

One passionate kiss later, Hiyori was out of breath, and Patricia had pinned her down, knees on her hips and hands on her shoulders. Hiyori couldn't move "Wow… This… was entirely different… from how… I imagined… getting pinned… would feel like…" Hiyori said between deep breaths.

"Pinning someone by the wrists isn't as effective as anime would tell you." Patricia smiled. "So… can I keep going?"

"… What?"

"Oh, you know." Patricia casually put her hand on Hiyori's left breast.

Hiyori gasped. _I MY GOD. If I say yes, I'm gonna get laid… Am I ready for this…? Oh, who am I kidding? I WANT THIS!_ "G-go…" Patricia grinned and continued.

**LUCKY STAR**

"Hey, Misao, I've always wondered this… How can you wolf down all of your food all the time and not get any fatter?" Kagami asked, pinching her waist.

"Dude, I'm part of the track team, remember?"

"… huh, forgot about that…"

Lunch in classroom 3-C was pleasant and quiet. Kagami, Misao, and Ayano had much of the room to themselves, with all their classmates either taking up their own small space in the corner of the room, eating at the cafeteria, or wandering the school building.

"You've gotta relax, Kagami. You're not fat." Misao said casually. "You're pretty sexy actually."

That earned a swat to the head which Kagami delivered swiftly. "Geez, you're sounding more and more like Konata with every passing day."

Misao rubbed her head. "Oww… You didn't have to hit me _that_ hard. I was telling you what I honestly thought" Kagami blushed but did not respond. "Speaking of that midget, why aren't you eating with her?"

Kagami blinked. _Why AREN'T I eating with her?_ "… I don't know."

"Maybe it's because you wanted to spend time with me?" Misao said hopefully.

"Er… no. I don't think so." Kagami deadpanned

"Kagami, that's mean." Misao pouted. "Is that how you're supposed to treat your girlfriend?" Kagami twitched. Misao noticed this and suddenly became worried. "… Oh boy…" She began snapping her fingers in front of the twin-tails' face as she began shivering. "Kagami, I was joking. I actually kinda like it when you're mean to me." She said quickly, trying to calm her down..

Kagami's eyes slowly went back into focus and her cheeks slowly turned a rosy color. "You… You shouldn't joke about things like that…"

"Sorry…" Misao apologized. "Hey, this is that tsundere personality this the chibi was talking about" Misao said enthusiastically, happy to have remembered something about her girlfriend. "You're actually pretty sensitive, huh?"

"Sh-shut up…" Kagami replied weakly. "It's your fault for saying stupid things…"

"Just stop thinking too much on it. Your brain keeps making things worse; I'm surprised you keep acing our tests"

"Oh, big words coming from someone who got 16% percent once" Kagami retorted, her voice gaining some energy back

"Hey, the teacher NEVER discussed that!"

"It _was_ discussed! _Last Year_!" Kagami corrected

"You expect me to remember something a teacher taught me _a year ago_?!"

"At least _some of it!_ "

"Maybe if you helped me, I'd be able to remember!"

"Oh, I very much doubt that!"

"Wanna bet!?"

"You're on!"

"Great! I'll go to your house every Saturday for tutoring then."

Kagami blinked "Wait what?" _Did she just…_

"That was smooth." Ayano giggled. "When did you get so good at talking?"

"Let's just say me and the midget are closer friends that we used to be." Misao said smugly

 _So SHE planned this…_ Kagami clenched her teeth. _I'm gonna kill her…_

**LUCKY STAR**

Miyuki was wandering the halls. Public displays of affection aside, she was perfectly comfortable with staying in the class room and watching her two friends act lovey-dovey, and the couple was likewise fine with her being there. She didn't wish to intrude on them though. Thus, she walked the school building.

By definition, "to wander" is _"to move around or go to different places usually without having a particular purpose or direction"_. With that said, Miyuki was definitely wandering, in more ways than one.

Her mind was afloat and her train of thought had gone off the tracks. The last thing she remembered was walking out of her classroom, the next thing she knew, she was on the other side of the building (and little did she know that she had circled the entire floor twice before she came to)

What tore from daze, however, was a scream.

"Kyaaa!"

"What was that?" Miyuki looked around to find a few other students who were also looking around. They probably heard the noise as well.

A few minutes past and those searching gave up and once again went about their business. Miyuki, however continued her search, fueled by a certain curiosity she couldn't quite control. _That sound was too soft to be from one of the nearby classrooms. It's also too loud to be from a classroom farther away. From the way it resounded through the hall, I'd say it came from outside, through the window_. Miyuki looked out the window and found the grounds were empty. _It wasn't directly from the outside, so it was probably from the second years' hallway… Oh dear, am I really bold enough to brave entering the halls of my underclassmen?_ Miyuki shook her head. _Perhaps it was on the roof. I'd rather not embarrass myself by going down to the second years' floor._

And so Miyuki went for the roof, the door to which was surprisingly unlocked. What she saw was… troubling, to say the least.

**LUCKY STAR**

"I know we talked about this before, but which end of a choco-cornet is the head?" Konata asked as she took a bite of the side food item. "Like… Which is it _really?_ Is it the fat end or the skinny end?"

Tsukasa thought for a bit "Well, I always thought it was the skinny end because it looks kinda like-"

"A sea shell" Konata finished, taking another bite off the skinny end of the cornet.

The lavender haired girl beamed in awe "Yeah. Wow Konata, you're a really good guesser. It's like you read my mind"

"Eh…" _But we already talked about this. Two years ago…_ "Yeah, let's go with that. It's the skinny end, like the tip of a sea shell…" The otaku decided not to further that conversation anymore.

"You know, I don't think a choco-cornet is enough food for you" Tsukasa noted

"What?"

"I mean, back in the last trimester, you were always bringing box lunches. What happened to change that?" Concern laced Tsukasa's voice.

"Eh… Well, I'm trying to save money and buying choco-cornets and a bottle of milk is cheaper than the lunch I make at home."

"Really?" Tsukasa asked, not quite believing her. "What are you saving up for?"

Konata was presented with a choice - trust Tsukasa and tell her the truth or lie and risk upsetting her if she ever finds out. _If she doesn't find out I'll be fine… but then it would mean I don't trust her, now doesn't it? Well… If I were in a dating sim, what action would lead to the good ending…? I'm gonna tell her the truth._ "Remember around a month or so ago when I said we were having money troubles?"

The question got a worried look from Tsukasa "Y-yes…"

"We're sorta still in a pinch." Konata gave a vague explanation that didn't really explain anything. "Better than before, but not good."

Tsukasa was left with something to ponder. She pouted, arching her eyebrows, and rubbing her chin. _Tsukasa looks cute when she's deep in thought like that…_ The airhead's eyes widened and a smile found its way on her face. She got an idea.

"I'll just make you one" Tsukasa said cheerfully

"… Make me what?" The blunette was confused. _We were talking about money… she's gonna help me make money?_

"Lunch"

"Oh…" She blinked. _Ooooh, that's what she meant._ "Are you sure? I don't really want to be too much trouble"

"Yeah. Why not? It's not like you don't already depend on Kagami for homework. Why not depend on me for food too?"

 _Ouch… Airheads hit hard when they don't know what they're saying… But she has a point. Why not?_ "… Okay. You'll make lunch for me. Thanks"

"You're welcome." Tsukasa chimed. "I'll start tomorrow… But til' then…" Tsukasa took a bit of her lunch with her chopsticks and raised it in front of Konata. "Here, have some."

"Uh…" Konata blushed. _Holy Haruhi, we're gonna be sharing lunch. That's like getting an indirect kiss… what am I thinking!? I've already gotten a DIRECT KISS from her! Why is this making my heart pound all of all of a sudden!? It's like I'm in a shoujo manga or something!_ She opened her mouth and Tsukasa fed her.

**LUCKY STAR**

Miyuki was scolding her two scantily clad underclassmen. "While I'm sorry to have intruded in your… um… intimate moment…" Hiyori and Patricia blushed "… but please understand, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be doing that sort of thing at school. You're lucky it was just me. I'd rather not think of what would have happened if a teacher saw you." The two first-years blushed even more "It's perfectly reasonable for healthy teenage girls to engage in sexual activities, but keep in mind that there is a time and place for everything…"

"Alright, we promised not to get caught next time" Patricia said, getting over her embarrassment quicker than most people would think possible

Miyuki raised an eyebrow. "If you _are_ gonna be doing something like that again, I suggest you find a way to keep the noise to the minimum…" She smiled "oh, and close the door next time" With that, the pinkette walked back into the building.

Once she was at the bottom of the steps, she sighed. _I'd be lying if I didn't find that more than a little arousing…_ She shook her head to dispel any unwanted thoughts. _You're in school, Miyuki. Know your priorities._

**LUCKY STAR**

"Oh, Hiyori, where've you been?" Yutaka asked when she entered the room.

"Well… I was… er… with Patricia and we ate on the roof" Hiyori said quickly

Minami raised an eyebrow. She gave the glasses-girl a once over – slightly messy hair; somewhat ruffled uniform; subtly looser skirt – Minami was pretty sure of what Hiyori and Patricia did on the roof and she would bet that it _wasn't_ eating (although that actually did happen)

Hiyori noticed Minami's stare and when she glanced at her, the mint-haired girl gave a razor-thin smile, a barely noticeable change in her emotionless face. "Congratulations" She said. Hiyori blushed. _She knows._

"Congratulations for what?" Yutaka asked

"Ah… well… you see…" Hiyori couldn't think of an answer.

"It's a secret. She'll tell you when she's less shy about it" Minami said, saving Hiyori the trouble of explaining.

Hiyori looked at Minami with grateful eyes. The stoic returned her glance with a look that said _tell us when you're ready_. Hiyori smiled nervously. _Message received_

**LUCKY STAR**

Kagami was asked by their homeroom teacher to help with filing the class' grades. Why the teacher would entrust a student to do that, she didn't know, the fact of the matter is that she was forced to stay late after school.

The rain poured outside as Kagami exchanged her shoes at the shoe lockers. "Well looks like I got my wish. I WILL be breaking this thing in" As she went out the door, the twin-tailed girl took out the folding umbrella from her bag and moved to walk into the rain before she noticed a head of blue hair at the edge of the overhang that shielded them from the rain. "Yo, Konata"

The otaku blinked "Oh, Kagami. Didn't see you there"

"Jeez. What are you doing, spacing out over here?"

"Aww. You're worried about me?" Konata teased

"Of course I'm worried. You were standing there, glaring into space as if you were really pissed off."

The bluenette blinked again "I was?"

"Yeah"

"Ah… Well, don't worry about that." Konata waved her off "What you should worry about is me getting stuck in the rain. Got any problem with sharing?" She gestured at the umbrella

"Oh… Sure." And so, they walked to the station together under the canopy of the umbrella.

The only sound as they walked was the pitter-patter of raindrops hitting the side walk. This is one of the few times Kagami had ever been alone with Konata and not be constantly teased by her. Come to think of it, the last time they were ever alone together was before she and Tsukasa got together, and that was nearly two months ago. That said, the lack of communication made the air around them feel heavy.

"S-so…" Kagami pierced the relative silence.

"… So" Konata repeated awkwardly.

 _Say something, damn it!_ "So… school started today…"

"… Yeah"

"… Sorry I didn't eat with you guys"

"It's fine…"

The conversation was force and uncomfortable. Kagami began beating herself up for not being able to find a good topic to talk about. _It would have been better to keep the awkward silence._ Coincidentally, that was exactly what they returned to.

"Hey, Kagami…" This time it was Konata the broke the silence. "You have a meeting with the other class reps right?"

Kagami coughed lightly "… Um… Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Miyuki said she went to a class rep meeting this morning. Since you're a class rep, I just put two and two together." Konata explained "Anyways, what was the meeting about?"

"Oh, okay" _That was actually pretty obvious… How did I not think of that?_ "Well, we have a few weeks before the culture festival begins so we decided to start planning. It was mostly budget negotiations with the student council. I don't know how the prez managed to juggle negotiating with nine different reps at the same time but she was amazing."

"Actually, I saw an anime involving a certain student council president who could do that…" Konata began, to which she was flicked on the forehead by Kagami

"Whoever that is, if she's from anime, I'm not surprised she can do it." Kagami deadpanned "Oh, and would you believe that Miyuki got you guys the biggest budget out of all of us?"

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah. The difference between your budget and everyone else's was a little under a hundred yen, but still"

"That's our Miyuki" Konata praised "How'd she do it? Did she use her sexy moe aspects to seduce the prez?" She added with a sly smile

Kagami face palmed "First of all, the prez doesn't swing that way; second, I don't think Miyuki would stoop so low"

"Hmm… I suppose you're right." Konata frowned "I don't think Miyuki would be able to use her moe powers even if she wanted to…"

"That's not exactly what I meant… Ah, whatever." Kagami shook her head "Anyway, she sort of intimidated us into it."

"No way"

"Yeah. We both know how rich Miyuki's family is. She threatened to… er… _contribute_ to your funds if your class didn't get a bigger budget."

"Wow, the goddess of moe's badass…"

"I'll say. Pretty unfair though" Kagami sighed "Then again, life isn't fair."

The silence returned once more, but not as awkward as it was earlier – not as long as earlier either

"How was lunch with Misao?" Konata asked. She said it in a casual manner but there was a certain look of expectation in her eyes.

Kagami looked at her with suspicion. "It was…" With a blink and a blush, she remembered. She bonked Konata on the head "You planned that didn't you!?"

"OW!" Konata rubbed place of impact. "That hurt."

"Admit it! You planned that whole scene with the teasing and the tricking and word play and-"

"Kagami! Calm down." Konata took hold of her shoulders, causing the tsundere to let go of the umbrella. "Chill"

Kagami took a deep breath. "Y-you… you planned for Misao to trick me into helping her study"

Konata stared at her "What?" She bent down and picked the umbrella up from the sidewalk. "Kagami, I never talked to Misao about doing that." She propped it up awkwardly, in a vain attempt to keep the canopy above Kagami's head. The twin-tailed girl took the umbrella from the struggling Konata. "I mean, I guess I gave her an idea when we last talked but… I didn't exactly give her a way to execute it."

"You… you didn't?" Kagami blushed

"No. I'm still sorta wondering how you thought it was my doing." Konata looked at her sternly, which really didn't work with her as all she could muster was a cute pout.

Ignoring the downright adorable attempt at an unsympathetic face, Kagami explained "She sort of began teasing me…"

Konata rolled her hands in a 'go on' gesture "And?"

"One of them hit a bit too hard and she apologized…"

"And?"

"After a few back-and-forths, she tricked me into accepting a bet where I have to tutor her every weekend."

"And?"

"… That's it"

"… That's it?"

"…That's it…"

Konata blinked "And what's the problem here again?"

"Well, I… I…" Kagami was speechless

"Right" Konata deadpanned in a voice similar to her Haruhi impression. "If you want my opinion, I think you're just overreacting"

"Stop it with the acting" Kagami warned

"Alright alright." Konata relented "But still, I DO think that. What, did you think I was planning to break your mind by sending your girlfriend to your house every week?" Konata joked

"… Yes…" The twin-tailed girl said shyly

"Wait, you did? What the hell kind of train of thought would lead you to that conclusion?" Konata shook her head. "Never mind. Listen Kagami, you've gotta stop overthinking things. Just accept that something good happened in your life. It's not like _everything_ has a catch."

"But…"

"Okay, maybe _most things_ have a catch. Like those supposedly free coupons I got from this one guy at gamerz" Konata muttered

"Uh…" Kagami was getting annoyed

"But that's beside the point. Now, where was I."

"What is it about my situation that is good?" Kagami asked irritably.

"Well, for one, you get to spend time you're your girlfriend" Konata said a-matter-of-factly.

"… She… She's my classmate. We see each other all the time"

"So are me and Tsukasa. I'd feel pretty good if I were in your situation… actually can you tutor me too?"

"NO, I can't tutor you too!"

"Darn it"

"Besides, I don't think staying at my house would be-"

"Kagami, stop making excuses. If you don't want her in your house, you could always tell her"

"But-"

"Ah, for some reason I forgot you were tsundere, alright have to think of a better solution"

"Hey, I'm not-"

"Actually there's no better way than to tell the truth" Konata concluded "Just tell her straight up that you don't want her at your house. Yeah. That'll-"

"Konata!" Kagami shut her up. "She deserves better than me…" Kagami said quietly, barely audible from the sound of the rain

"What are you talking about? You've got the some of the best grades in our year."

"No… it's not because of that… She deserves a better girlfriend… Someone who actually loves her…"

"Then be that girl" Konata said simply "Be the girl you think she deserves"

"I can't… I don't love her. I'm-"

"In love with me?" The umbrella once more fell to the ground

"K-konata…" Kagami blushed, not of just embarrassment, but also in shame. "…yes…"

"Then forget about me!" Konata yelled "If I'm the one going between you two then take me out of your life! Be happy with her!"

"But I DON'T WANT YOU OUT OF MY LIFE!" Kagami sobbed helplessly, sinking down to her knees.

"WELL DO YOU WANT MISAO OUT OF YOUR LIFE!?" Konata asked angrily "Stop beating yourself up! She loves you! It doesn't matter if she deserves better! YOU'RE THE ONE SHE WANTS!" Konata's emotions were overpowering her "Please… I don't want to see you so sad anymore…" Soon, she too sank to her knees.

"I-I'm sorry f-for yelling…" Kagami gasped as she tried to suppress her wails.

"Its… It's fine…" Konata managed "I just… just want you t-to be happy…" Konata leaned over to hug Kagami which she graciously returned.

So there on the sidewalk, in the rain, they sat holding each other, the cold raindrops ignored for the warmth and comfort of their skin ship.

After they've calmed down, Kagami sighed "what the hell are we doing, look at us…"

Konata chuckled. "We look like idiots"

"I'll say" The shade of an umbrella covered them from the rain as someone walked up behind them. The two turned to see it was Miyuki. "While I'm glad you two have made up in whatever argument you were having, I'd think it would be nice if we get you two out of the rain."

Kagami rubbed her eyes dry, or at least as dry as the weather would allow "Right. We might catch a cold" She stood up

Getting up as well, Konata segued into a tangent about colds. "You know, I've always wondered, why is that in anime, when you catch a cold, you're basically dead? It's like colds in anime are the equivalent of cancer in real life"

"… come to think of it, it's the same in light novels." Kagami realized, thankful that Konata lightened the mood

"Perhaps we should continue this while we walk?" Miyuki suggested "We're not far from the station"

And so, the three of them walked. The two received weird looks on the train because of their dripping wet clothes and hair but all was well. When the two got off at their respective stops, they went straight to their homes and took a hot bath.

Miyuki, who arrived home first recounted the even to Minami.

"It sounds like her problem is complicated" Minami noted

"It only seems that way, Minami-san" Miyuki said "It's a whole lot simpler than you think."


	2. It was rainy after school

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some time has passed and we are now one week and three days from the culture festival. You know what that means? Filler chapter! It was rainy after school

**LUCKY STAR**

Friday at Ryoo High was rainy but not entirely gloomy. The weekend was nigh and all those in the school were very excited for the short break… almost.

"Alright guys. A few things before I dismiss you" Nanako Kuroi said to the class "I know next week is the culture festival and I'm sure you're all very excited about it but try to remember that a few weeks from now is your mid-term, and after that, college entrance exams. Have fun next week but keep in mind that you're seniors now. Get your priorities straight." She looked to the one seated near the back of the classroom "I'm looking at you, Izumi"

"Don't worry teach, my priorities are as straight as yours" Konata said teasingly

"That's what I'm afraid of" The history teacher deadpanned. She sighed and waved lazily at the class as she sat back down "Well, that's all. Class dismissed"

The class of 3-B slowly trickled out the room, bottle-necked by the two doors at the front and back of the classroom. The first out was Shiraishi who opened the front door wide when he exited. _Nice guy, that Shiraishi._ Kuroi commented. The people continued to leave

Soon the classroom was left with only three other people – Konata Izumi, Tsukasa Hiiragi, and Miyuki Takara. _Best friends I've ever seen_. Kuroi smiled and approached them. "Don't have any plans on leaving?"

"Nope, no plans on _leaving_ " Konata said simply "What we _do_ have plans for, though…"

Kuroi didn't like the sly grin that appeared on the otaku's face "Is it anything likely to get me fired"

"Oh, heaven's no" Miyuki said "We were simply making plans for the culture festival"

"Awww, why'd you have to tell her? I wanted to mess with teach a bit"

Kuroi bonked Konata on the head, followed by an 'ow' from the victim. "That's for implying something untrue and would possibly cost me my job." Kuroi went back to the teacher's table and picked up her bag. "Well, I'm leaving. Lock up before you go"

"No problem, Ms. Kuroi" Tsukasa and Miyuki said in unison. "No problemo, teach" Konata said cheerfully

As Kuroi closed the door, she noticed a girl waiting outside class 3-C. _Isn't that Kusakabe?_

She walked up to her. "Hey, kid, classes are over… what are you doing?"

"Oh, Ms. Kuroi…" Misao was at the window outside the classroom and was apparently busy playing around. She was trying to hold her entire body in the air by holding onto the windowsill but was not doing a very good job of it. She grinned when the teacher approached. "I'm just hanging around"

As always, when a simple or vague answer is given to a question, another question inevitably follows "Why?"

"I'm waiting for Kagami. She and Ms. Sakuraba are still talking in there. Class rep stuff" Misao explained

At that exact moment, Hikaru Sakuraba and Kagami Hiiragi opened the door to 3-C. Kagami was holding a stack of thirty or so notebooks while Ms. Sakuraba held two very large text books "Ah, perfect timing. Kusakabe, take this and bring it wherever Kagami is bringing it" She handed the books to her. "I'll see you three on Monday" She smiled and walked away

Misao stood with two heavy books in her hands and a very confused look on her face. "What just happened?"

"You, my dear student, just got hired to do manual labor" Kuroi said cheekily before walking away as well. "I'll leave you to it"

As Kuroi exited the building to the school parking lot, she noticed two students behind the gym. While curious about their business there, she decided it wasn't worth her effort. _I'm off the clock. Whatever they're doing, it's not my problem anymore._ She got in her car and left for home.

_Time for another weekend alone at home…_

**LUCKY STAR**

"Here" Minami said, helping Yutaka erase the upper half of the black board

"Thanks, Minami" Yutaka said cheerfully

The two of them, plus three other students, were part of the Class 1-D clean-up crew for that day. It's quite convenient that they ended up together when you think about it.

"Kobayakawa-san, Iwasaki-san, we're done on our end. We'll leave the rest to you two" Two boys from the back of the room were packing their bags getting ready to leave

"What about me!?" A girl cleaning the windows shouted, distressed at the thought of being left behind.

"Then finish faster" The two left the room

"Guys!" The girl sighed and looked at the two at the front of the classroom

Minami was staring intently at the girl. After a few seconds, the mint haired girl glanced to the door that the boys had left from. She returned to sweeping the room shortly after.

The girl paled when she realized Iwasaki was staring at her. Did she do something to offend her? Had she and her friends been too loud? She must think they didn't do enough work! All of this swirled in the girls mind as she panicked before she was snapped out of it by a very small girl.

Yutaka Kobayakawa beamed at her. "It's okay. Go to your friends. We can take care of things here"

The girl glanced at Minami. The mint haired girl returned the glance and nodded before returning to her work.

"Thank you" The girl took her things and quickly vacated the room.

"That was a nice thing to do Minami" Yutaka said. Minami nodded sadly "Don't worry. She just misunderstood you." Yutaka said in an attempt to reassure her. Minami nodded once more and continued sweeping the already clean floor.

The shorter girl frowned and moved to finish cleaning the windows. After a few minutes, Minami decided to help, scrubbing the upper half of the glass. They were finished in no time

"All done" Yutaka said happily. It wasn't often she was able to help out. Normally, she'd struggle with sweeping or some similar task for a few minutes before someone took pity on her and did the work for her. It was a nice change to actually be able to see her task though to the end, albeit with help – required because of her height.

"Great work" Minami said, with a rare smile on her lips. "Shall we go?" She asked as she began packing her bag.

She stared dreamily into Minami's smiling face for a few minutes before Minami's question registered to her brain. Yutaka's face heated up. "In a minute" Yutaka rushed for her bag and began packing.

The taller girl giggled at her girlfriend's antics – another uncommon occurrence. Yutaka's blush deepened. "L-let's go"

They closed the door, locked it and made their way out.

**LUCKY STAR**

The discussion about what Class 3-B would do for the festival was a lively one

"Awww! Why can't we do a swim suit café!? It would be awesome!" Konata shouted "We've got a sexy glasses-girl that just oozes moe! How can we go wrong with that!?"

With a blush Miyuki coughed. "It… it would be a little embarrassing, wouldn't you think?" She fidgeted in her seat. "I don't have the confidence to wear something as revealing as a swimsuit here in school…"

"Me neither…" Tsukasa agreed.

The light in Konata's eyes dimmed but the enthusiasm soon returned. "What about a maid café?" She suggested

"Class 2-E already turned in a form for that. We can't also be a maid café." Miyuki commented

"Who cares? We've got a bigger budget and we also have more variety!" The blue haired otaku stood on the table and pointed at Miyuki. "The well-endowed bespectacled-beauty!" She pointed at Tsukasa "The clumsy and lovable airhead!" and then she beat her chest proudly "And me, the energetic loli-otaku!" She pointed up towards the ceiling "Our class is the superior class! We will challenge the class of 2-E and we will win, or die trying! Just who do you think we are!?"

Miyuki and Tsukasa were in awe and confusion at Konata's passionate speech. Not knowing how to react, they simply clapped, praising the performance.

The short girl jumped off the table and returned to her seat. "So does that mean we're fighting to see who the better maid café is?"

"No" Miyuki said simply "It's against the rules for two classes to do the same thing for the festival"

Konata blinked "huh… didn't think about that…"

Right then, Tsukasa jumped "I've got it!"

"Got an idea I see" Konata asked.

Tsukasa nodded quickly, lavender hair shaking wildly "Yes, yes I do!"

Konata turned to Miyuki who had an amused look on her face. She glanced at Konata as if to say _'well? Ask her what it is'._ Konata grinned. "Okay, I'll bite. What is it, Tsukasa?"

"We do a play!"

Konata and Miyuki looked at each other. Both saw that the other was up for it. Will that be what their class does for the festival? The two smiled. They hoped so. Too bad they won't be able to vote on it till Monday.

**LUCKY STAR**

"So…" Misao dumped the two books onto Ms. Sakuraba's desk in the empty faculty room. "Do you do this kind of thing a lot?"

"Unfortunately…" Kagami said as she neatly arranged the stack of notebooks on the table. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that teachers think they can depend on me, but still, spending time to work for teachers is still spent time. You'd think they'd rather have students using their time on studying than running errands."

"Yeah." Misao agreed "Speaking of which…"

"You remembered? Wonderful" Kagami said dryly

"… was that-"

"Sarcasm? Yes. Yes it was" Kagami stretched before walking out the faculty room, locking the door "Anyway, how are we gonna be doing this tutoring thing. I didn't really think you were serious so I kinda forgot to prepare" Kagami lied. She was actually well set for this considering how much she helps her sister and Konata with their studies.

Misao stretched as well, yawning slightly. "It's cool. Just do whatever you do when you help out Imouto or Chibi"

Kagami cringed. _I really wish she didn't know that much about me… Well, can't make excuses. Regardless of how she got me to agree, a decision is still a decision, and I decided to help her, so I have to do this…_

After exchanging their shoes, they walked out the building. It had rained earlier and looking at the sky, it seemed that it was about to rain again. Kagami felt worried because of that. "Are you sure you want to do it today? You said Saturday when we made the bet."

"Eh…" Misao scratched her head "I'm busy this weekend. I won't have anything to do today so why not?"

"Why not…? Well, it's about to rain" Kagami said dryly

"Huh… didn't notice that" Misao said, looking up at the grey clouds overhead "Ah, who cares about the rain?"

"You might catch a cold." Kagami warned

"I'm pretty strong. I'm sure I can survive a little rain and not get sick" Misao waved off Kagami's worries

"… If you say so…" Kagami pulled her umbrella from her bag and readied it in case it started to pour. "C'mon. The longer we just stand here, the more likely we'll get caught in the rain"

"Heh, no need to tell me twice. Let's go!" Misao said enthusiastically

Kagami sighed. _I get the feeling that this'll be a long trip home…_

**LUCKY STAR**

"That was fun" Patricia said with a satisfied look

"Yeah…" Hiyori panted. She seemed really out of breath, not to mention was walking funny. "But… the back of the gym…? Really…? What if we got caught…?"

"Oh, don't be such a worrywart." Patricia dismissed her points "No one goes there"

"That's what you said last time" Hiyori retorted

"You enjoyed it didn't you?" Patricia asked with a sly smile

"I… er… yeah…"

"Then I don't see why you're complaining" Patricia checked her phone. "Oh, looks like I've got to go"

"Work?"

"Yup. See you on Monday" Patricia waved goodbye and Hiyori was left with lingering sensations, scents and thoughts of the girl who just left. _Is this love or lust? Ah who cares!? This blend of feeling is just what I needed to make the next chapters to my story all the better. Thank you Patricia._ Hiyori shook her head to clear her mind. No need for such thoughts when walking home, people might stare at her.

**LUCKY STAR**

"So how was school you two?" Tadao Hiiragi asked her daughters over dinner

"It was nice" Tsukasa said cheerfully

"Eh, same old same-old" Kagami replied dryly.

"I'd also like to know something…" Tadao began

"Yes, dad…" Kagami asked quietly

"Why is Misao Kusakabe eating dinner with us?"

"Well…" The twin-tailed girl sighed. "Misao, care to explain…?"

Misao who was wolfing down her food stopped abruptly. "… What?"

"Would you care to tell us why you have graced our dinner table with your presence?" Kagami asked sarcastically

"Oh…" Misao suppressed a burp and began talking "Well, I don't know if Kagami told you guys, but we had a sort of agreement that she'd tutor me every weekend. It was sorta supposed to be on Saturdays but I had plans. I came here with Kagami and studied for a few hours and when we finished and I was about to leave, it was raining really hard, so I stayed for a bit longer. I guess I waited too long because now the rain is REALLY pouring and you guys are having dinner. Thanks for the food by the way"

Tadao raised an eyebrow and looked at Kagami. Kagami looked back and said "Eh, what can I do?"

The father sighed. He figured he could help his daughter's friend. "I'll drive you home after dinner."

"Really? Thanks!" Once more, Misao dove into her food with much more gusto than she had previously – something the Hiiragis found, quite frankly, amazing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was a chapter. Hope you enjoyed it – and if you didn't, well… *sigh* I don't blame you  
> Again, comments are appreciated, especially ones that tell me my mistakes (spelling, grammar, or otherwise)


	3. Inconvenient storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in this chapter is set on Monday, two days since the last chapter. Hope you enjoy, and if you don't, I'm very sorry. Here's "Inconvenient Storm".

**LUCKY STAR**

[Hiiragi residence, Kagami speaking.]

[Morning, Kagami. Since we don't have school today, do you and Tsukasa wanna go to Akihabara with me?]

[Konata, classes were canceled because a storm's gonna hit this afternoon…]

[If we go now we can probably make it back home before the storm hits]

[No, the trains are down and the roads are cleared in case we need to evacuate. I'm pretty sure the shops in Akiba will be closed too]

[You underestimate the otaku!]

[Either way, it's still a no. My parents wouldn't let me out even if I wanted to]

[What about Tsukasa?]

[Konata…]

[Aww, Kagami, you're no fun.]

[You better not go, you little pipsqueak. If I find out you went anyway… if you survive… if you…you…]

[Kagami, relax! I'm not going!]

[…]

[I'm not going. I'll stay at home. Nothing's gonna happen.]

[…o-okay…]

[… well… bye for now… see you tomorrow?]

[… s-sure… see you tomorrow…]

– Click –

**LUCKY STAR**

"Miyuki-nee-san, it's time for lunch" Minami said as she knocked on the door. With no response, she opened the door to find a dark room with Miyuki sitting on her bed, headphones covering her ears, and laptop casting the multi colored lights on Miyuki's face. Curious, Minami went in for a closer look.

She was apparently playing a video game and a rather hard one at that. It was a bullet hell shooter with brightly colored shapes of death practically covering the entire play area – and Miyuki was dodging every last one of them.

The mint haired girl watched in awe for a few minutes before Miyuki finished. "Nee-san. Lunch is ready" Minami turned on the lights

"Oh, Minami-san. I didn't see you there." Miyuki blinked, adjusting to change in ambient lighting. "I'll be down in a bit."

"What were you playing?"

"It was a video game Konata introduced to me called Touhou. It's actually quite engaging. Nearly all of the boss fights have fairly simple attack patterns despite their apparent difficulty and it's quite satisfying to use it to my advantage." Miyuki giggled "If you'd like, I'll give you a copy."

Minami smiled and nodded

The two went down for lunch

**LUCKY STAR**

Tsukasa knocked on Kagami's door "Sis, it's time for lunch…" No response "Sis…?" Opening the door, the younger twin found her sister in a fetal position on her bed. She rushed to her side. "Sis, what's wrong?"

It took some time for Kagami to respond "… it's nothing. Just me worrying too much again…"

Tsukasa looked at her with concern. "… Is it because of the storm?"

"… Yeah…" Kagami seemed to pull herself into a ball even tighter "… and Konata"

"Konata?"

"She wanted to go to that anime district… It's already raining and the storms about to hit. What if she went anyway?"

Tsukasa's worry increased "Konata didn't really go did she?" She seemed to shrink at the thought "… I wouldn't like if she got hurt…"

Tsukasa frowned, eyes unfocused. The ever increasing anxiety on her face was alarming. You could almost see her train of thought – imagining scenario after scenario, getting progressively worst as time went on. It seemed _both_ twins suffered from the same curse of an overactive imagination.

Kagami clenched her teeth. Seeing her sister just as worried as she was seemed to make something click in the older twin. "C'mon" She pulled Tsukasa into a hug. "She's fine. Konata's not that stupid…" She said in an attempt to reassure Tsukasa – and at the same time, herself.

After a few minutes of holding each other, the two finally calmed down. Tsukasa squeaked "Lunch is ready…"

Kagami blinked. "What?"

**LUCKY STAR**

"Onee-chan, is something wrong?" Yutaka asked her otaku cousin who was sitting in front of her computer, deep in thought.

"I probably should have asked to come over to their house instead. I only wanted to spend time with them…" The bluenette muttered

Yutaka tapped her shoulder "Onee-chan?"

"Yu-chan!" Konata jumped "Didn't hear you come in… could have sworn I locked the door…"

"Um… the door was wide open"

"Really? Wow, I must be really out of it… Whoever's causing these gaps in my memory, I must put a stop to them!" Konata shouted "In all seriousness though, how'd you sneak up on me like that? You start ninja training or something?"

"I don't know. You were staring intently at your computer screen. It was turned off so I thought maybe something was wrong… _Is there_ something wrong?"

"Eh… It's Kagami. I was on the phone with her and I think she was about to have a panic attack…"

Yutaka gasped. She had seen one of those before when she was confined to the hospital. She'd never quite heard or seen something so full of fear and pain since then. "Is she alright?"

"I managed to prevent it" Konata sighed.

"Is she taking any medication for that?" Yutaka asked

"There's medicine for that?"

"Er… It depends"… Yutaka explained that there are many causes of panic attacks and no known form of medication would completely prevent it without bad side effects.

"Huh, never knew you were so… well…" Konata struggled to find the word but Yutaka understood what she was saying.

"Back when I stayed at the hospital, some of the patients would talk to me. I learned what I know now from them. They're really nice people. I wish they didn't have to suffer so much though…"

"Ah, that's my Yu-chan. The closest thing to an angel if I've ever seen one"

Yutaka blushed "Oneee-chaaan. Stop it, it's embarrassing."

Konata patted her head "Ain't you cute. I bet Minami would love to see you this flustered." she teased

"Stoooop it." Yutaka pleaded.

"Okay, okay." The bluenette relented "I was serious though. You're the nicest person I've known. Still the closest thing to an angel."

"Oneeeee-chaan!"

"Right!" Konata clapped her hands "Let's have lunch"

"… Eh?"

She took Yutaka by the shoulders, spun her to face the door, and began pushing. "To the kitchen!"

**LUCKY STAR**

It was less than an hour past the point where the hurricane hit the city. A number of structures had already been vacated due to them not being able to handle the storm. Luckily, the Hiiragi household was not one of those buildings. The family was inside having a little snack to calm their nerves.

"The rains coming down pretty heavily" Kagami noted.

Indeed, the sound of rain was akin to that of a waterfall – loud and constant. There was little to no wind but the torrent of water kept falling ceaselessly. It threatened to flood the pond that they had in the backyard.

"Tsukasa, have you readied your stuff in case we have to evacuate?" Kagami asked her sister

The said twin was in the middle of eating some cake. Kagami's question caused Tsukasa to drop her fork. "Huh? We have to evacuate?"

"Kagami, don't be so pessimistic. We'll be fine. A little rain will be no problem" Tadao said reassuringly.

"I don't know dad. This doesn't look like _a little_ rain." Kagami commented. She looked worriedly out the window to the street below. The raindrops were like bullets, pounding heavily on the ground. "This is the hardest I've ever seen it pour…"

"Everything will be okay, Kagami" Tadao said in a way so calm and sure that Kagami almost believed him – almost.

She had an unrelenting fear that the hurricane would get stronger, else, not lose intensity. It was illogical, though. Whenever storms passed over land, they lose both speed and water mass. It would be impossible for the storm to get stronger – and Kagami knew that. Yet for whatever reason, a nagging voice in her head was telling her to run from wherever they were as fast as possible. Unfortunately she could not see into the future so she had no choice but to act on the information she had – and the information she had told her she was safe.

"I hope you're right dad…" The twin tailed girl continued looking out the window "I hope you're right…"

**LUCKY STAR**

The storm windows in the Iwasaki Manor were all locked, the owners' valuable placed in a safe on the second floor, and the building vacated.

Everyone from the manor moved into the Takara residence, which was better equipped for weathering such weather (They had a generator, a water pump, a raised ground floor, a large stock of food and drinking water, and reinforced walls and windows – you'd think they were paranoid what with how prepared they were)

"This is wonderful weather we're having isn't it" Miyuki said

Minami blinked. She tilted her head in confusion

Miyuki sighed in disappointment "Hmm, the joke was a lot funnier in my head…"

Minami and Miyuki were lazing around in Miyuki's room. They had been there for three hours, playing video games, cards, and various other activities to alleviate their boredom. Unfortunately, they have exhausted all of their 'fun' options to kill time and were left with word games that neither was enjoying as much as they'd like to.

"Try as we might to kill time, in the end, it is time that kills us" Minami said

"Oh, that was a good one" Miyuki commented "Very philosophical"

As was stated before, they were not having as much fun as they'd like.

The pinkette sighed. "Minami-san, forgive my rudeness, but I'm bored" She plopped onto her bed, defeated. "I give up. I'm sorry"

Minami gave an amused smile. With a sigh and a shrug, she laid down on the bed as well.

It wasn't long before the world turned black

**LUCKY STAR**

[Hey Kagami]

[Konata? What is it this time?]

[Are your lights turned on?]

[Uh… yeah, why?]

[Not for long, they won't]

[What? Konata, you're not making any-]

– Click –

**LUCKY STAR**

"Who was that?" Matsuri asked

"Konata. She was asking about some nonsense with our lights" Kagami said in annoyance.

"Oh? What'd she say?" Matsuri grinned slyly as she egged her on

"She asked if our lights were on and then said they won't be for long" She grumbled

"Alright, I've gotta agree with you there. Doesn't really make much sense. It's not like she can predict the future so I don't see a point to that phone-"

At that exact moment, the lights went off.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me" Kagami muttered

**LUCKY STAR**

[Hello. Izumi residence]

[God dammit, Konata, how'd you do that!?]

[Oh, Kagami. I'm guessing you had a black out too?]

[Too? So you're saying-]

[Yup. My neighborhood has absolutely no power]

[Why are there black outs all of a sudden? There isn't even any wind to knock down transformers.]

[I think they're cutting the power in case that _does_ happen – kinda stupid if you ask me. But its better safe than sorry, I guess.]

[*sigh* okay, fine whatever…]

[Hey Kagami…]

[Yeah?]

[Sorry about earlier…]

[Oh… that's okay Konata. I know you're not stupid so you wouldn't really do it. Just don't joke about that stuff in the future.]

**LUCKY STAR**

"Onee-chan! What's going on!?" Yutaka cried from the top of the steps.

Yutaka was climbing down the stairs when the lights suddenly went out. Losing sight of the steps and railing, she basically began to panic, though it took time for her cry out her distress.

The sound of footsteps at the bottom of the stairs alerted Yutaka to Konata's presence. "Relax, Yu-chan! We're fine. Our power was just cut." Konata said calmly.

The small girl took the smaller girl's hand and slowly walked her down the stairs. "There. That wasn't so bad was it?" Yutaka shook her head but Konata couldn't see.

"I'll take your silence as a 'no'. Anyway…" The sound of rummaging was heard. "Where did I put that cellphone of mine…? Ah, here it is!"

Suddenly a bright light shone into Yutaka's eyes. "AH!" the red-head blinked several times, blinded by the sudden light.

"Good thing this little guy has a flash light. Now where are the candles…?" Konata muttered as she began to look for the said candles

**LUCKY STAR**

"Oh, it looks like the generator kicked in" Miyuki noted as she sat up on her bed

Minami sat up as well and looked worriedly at the sealed window "Why?"

"I suppose they cut the power because the possibility that power lines could be knocked down" the pinkette hypothesized. "It's rather ill advised, though. From the sound of the rain hitting our roof, there doesn't seem to be any wind that would likely cause such an event to occur"

Minami made no response. She simply looked at the closed storm shutters, subtle worry etched lightly on her face. With a slight frown, she looked at Miyuki.

The glasses-girl studied the mint-haired girl closely. As far as Miyuki could tell, Minami had a look of anxiety and longing, and when the girl turned to face her, a look of helplessness was also detectable. _She's thinking of Yutaka…_ "I'm sure Yutaka-san's fine" Miyuki reassured her. "She isn't as helpless as you think she is. Besides, Konata-san is with her"

Minami frowned, not quite convinced. She brought her legs up onto the bed and went into a fetal position "I want to be with her…"

The older girl smiled sadly. She put her arm around the younger's shoulder and pulled her into a hug. "It may not be the same, but big sister is here for you too"

Minami wasn't keen on physical affection or really any form of physical contact. Even simple handshakes weren't very favorable to her so it's not often you see people touch her. That said, physical contact was much more important to Minami than it is to most people.

"Nee-san…" Minami leaned into Miyuki. "Thank you…"

"You'll see her again, Minami…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's another very short chapter


	4. The storm's aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the aftermath of that storm in the previous chapter, imaginatively titled "The storm's aftermath"

**LUCKY STAR**

"We're pretty lucky we weren't flooded" Kagami noted that morning during a rather early breakfast.

The previous day, a hurricane passed through the region. The said storm wasn't very strong in terms of wind speeds but the downpour it caused had resulted in floods all throughout its area of influence. That said, yes, the Hiiragis _were_ pretty lucky they were spared from an overabundance of water in the lower levels of their house.

"Yeah, I guess…" Tsukasa said glumly.

Earlier, when she was making breakfast, the younger twin was cheery and full of energy. For whatever reason, when she started eating that breakfast, she began seeming less and less lively. _The cooking must have been the only thing that was keeping her happy…_ Kagami guessed. _As for what's keeping her sad… well, I'm pretty sure I know what it is._

"C'mon, Tsukasa. Cheer up. Remember, you're gonna see Konata again today"

Tsukasa blinked, swallowed her food, and blinked again. The beginnings of a hopeful smile began to form on her lips. _Bingo_. Kagami afforded herself a satisfied grin.

"I really do hope that" The airhead said

"Don't hope. Expect." Kagami stated happily "We're both gonna be meeting our girlfriends again today. Smile, why don't you?"

While Tsukasa eventually did smile from Kagami's reassurance, the older twin frowned from a sudden thought. _How's Misao doing? Look at me, worrying my mind away for another person and yet not once did I think of my own girlfriend! What's wrong with me!? And Misao, what's happened with her? Is she alright? Did she get flooded? What if she doesn't come to school today? What if she's been hospitalized!? What if it's serious!? What if she's dying? If she's dying… I… What would I do I she died…? If she dies… died… die… I can't… I just… I… I…_

Kagami blinked when Tsukasa suddenly forced a bit of rice into her mouth with her chopsticks. "If Konata's fine, I'm sure Misao will be fine as well" The younger twin said calmly. The older twin simply nodded quietly.

Tsukasa, as was stated before, was surprisingly good at reading people's moods despite being in an almost constant daze. She had already felt that aura of anxiety emanate from Kagami before so she was quick to deal with it when she felt it again– something the twin-tailed girl was very grateful to her sister for.

 _She's fine, Kagami. You'll see her again later at school… but what if I don't – darn it! Stop that!_ Kagami shook her head. She took a deep breath and continued eating.

Breakfast started subdued and remained so all throughout the meal.

**LUCKY STAR**

"Hey, the lights work again!" Konata was ecstatic at the return of the house's electricity. "And there's probably no school today so…" Konata grinned and made a dash for the computer. She turned it on and immediately ran her MMO program the moment she finished booting.

**LUCKY STAR**

Miyuki slowly opened her eyes to see a half-asleep Minami in the bed facing her. "*yawn* good morning Minami-san" She stretched her arms upward in a vain attempt to sit up

"Good morning nee-san" Minami said drowsily. With enviable ease, she sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She saw the older girl struggle to get up so she gave her a little help.

The two had shared a bed that night. This was nothing new however.

In the past, the two had sleepovers every now and again. Due to the nightmares Minami often had at that time, Miyuki would normally be woken up late into the night by a very scared mint haired girl who needed a hug and some calming words. It became a habit for both of them to sleep in the same bed when they slept in the same room. Somehow, it stuck with them all the way to high school.

As they returned to full consciousness, they noticed a certain silence they didn't have last night. "Hmm… it's no longer raining." Miyuki noted. "Shall we go check the damage outside?"

Minami yawned and nodded.

Miyuki opened the storm shutters and assessed state of their front yard. While she was not pleased, she was, however, relieved. The street was a mess of leaves and other such items, most likely brought down by the heavy rain, but thankfully it was not flooded.

"I think it's reasonable to say that we won't have school today" The pinkette guessed.

Sure, the amount of debris in their neighborhood was inconvenient, but it was manageable. If she were to look at some of the busier and/or less well maintained parts of the city, the amount of debris would probably be… a bit _more_ than inconvenient (not to mention the fact that there have been floods in various parts of the area). No school? Reasonable indeed.

"Shall we have breakfast?" Miyuki suggested

Minami nodded her agreement and the two went down to prepare breakfast.

**LUCKY STAR**

"Masaru!"

"What is it, gramps!?"

"Wake your sister up! Someone's on the phone for her!"

Usually, Misao would be the first one up in the morning. This time was a bit different due to a certain detail about her: She was scared of storms – to be particular, scared of hurricanes.

For whatever reason, she considers the gigantic masses of swirling vapor in the sky ready to drop enough water to flood various parts of the city - that is, a hurricane – to be threatening. It just so happened that the threat is a natural phenomenon that cannot be controlled.

Whenever there's a storm, she feels helpless. She can't run away; she can't fight it. She has no choice but to sit and wait. That scares her.

With that said, she had an awful night's sleep. The normally energetic girl awoke with a heavy mind and a haggard body, as if sleep would cause one to lose energy than to gain it. I guess you can say she woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

Her internal pain of both mind and matter was put aside when the door to her room was opened. "Aww man, what happened to _you_!?" Masaru scowled in disgust.

Misao glared menacingly, baring her fang, which looked a lot sharper that it normally did.

The boy raised his hands and backed away "Hey, no need to go feral. You got a phone call. A certain Hiiragi girl."

The sister's expression softened, turning from a snarl of pain and anger to a neutral face of thought and mild discomfort. "I'll be down in a bit…" she said weakly.

Misao grimaced. She was barely strong enough to sit up, much less stand, she pressed on. _Why do I feel so week?_ She asked herself as she struggled to stand.

"Take your time. It's not like I'm the one making her lover wait" Masaru chuckled "I'll be sure to let her know you'll be delayed" He exited the room, leaving the door open.

Misao sighed in annoyance – because of Masaru AND because of the headache and muscle sores she somehow got overnight for no logical reason. She shook her head and forced herself to reach the phone.

**LUCKY STAR**

_Sis went to Misao's to take care of her…_

Her father and older sisters went to check on the shine that morning while Kagami, after calling her girlfriend, went to the Kusakabe residence to take care of Misao. So, Tsukasa was left alone in the house – with alone being relative (technically, Miki was still home, doing housework and what not, but she was busy and didn't seem to want any help, even when Tsukasa offered to give her a hand)

Tsukasa sat on her bed, not quite sure of what to do. She still felt a bit anxious about how Konata was doing but she otherwise felt fine.

The lavender haired girl sighed and grabbed the closest stuffed animal from the intimidatingly large pile-of-stuffed-animals on her bed.

When she was younger, around five years of age, she started giving every stuffed animal she received a personality and backstory based on the recent events from when she got the said toy. When she got another one, she'd try to relate the new one's story to the others. That particular habit never died down. As her collections of dolls increased, the stories behind them became more and more elaborate. Fast forward to eighteen-years old, she had an imaginative world of unbelievable scale, inhabited by her stuffed animals and all their fictional relatives, friends, and enemies.

She often got lost in that fictional world. She could spend literally hours in her dreamscape, basking in the light of an imaginary sun, solving disputes between her dozens of fluffy toys, and overall, ignoring reality. She knew her kingdom of fluffy animals wasn't real. She return to the real world any time if she wanted. It's just that there have been very few things to make her want to leave.

Tsukasa's preference to her imaginary paradise over real life made it quite easy for her to escape reality but for reasons unknown to her, she couldn't make the metaphorical jump.

Tsukasa looked at the stuffed toy with confusion. It was a small purple puppy doll that Tsukasa got from Konata for her birthday that year. The girl tilted her head and thought of the back story she gave the dog

_The Puppy was a prince who sought a princess. One day, he rode off in search for one. Because of his curiosity, he fell into a pit trap and ended up stuck in a hole for an entire day. When morning came, he awoke to find that there was a princess – also and stuffed animal, this time a blue cat – with a large excavator at the mouth of the hole, trying to get him out. When the prince was saved, he knelt before the princess. He thanked her and then asked for her hand in marriage. The princess went "Sure, why not?" and they both lived happily ever after._

Tsukasa blinked. _Huh, I never noticed how that last part of the story was so much like what happened to me and Konata…_ She smiled. _I hope the happily ever after comes true as well._

Her thoughts were shattered when the sudden vibration of her cellphone caused her to jump. _Oh, a text._

**LUCKY STAR**

"*Yawn* Good morning, Onee-chan" Yutaka greeted as she walked into Konata's room.

"Oh, Yu-chan, perfect timing!" The small girl swiveled her computer chair to face the smaller girl. "I got a text from Miyuki. She said we're welcome to visit her today."

Yutaka tilted her head "Okay?" it took a couple of seconds but, in time, understanding dawned on her face – and from understanding came joy. "Really?"

"You wanna go?" Konata asked, to which, Yutaka nodded eagerly. Konata resisted the urge to gush over the intensely cute actions of the girl in front of her. "Right then. We'll go in an hour. Still have to make some food for when Dad comes home"

Joy was replaced with worry. "Uncle Sojiro hasn't come back yet?"

Sojiro Izumi was the provider for the Izumi home; he was also financially troubled. Thus, he continued working regardless the storm – a rather dumb and dangerous move on both his part and his employer's.

"He's fine. Don't worry" Konata said off handedly "He probably fell asleep on the train again"

 _But the train wasn't running yesterday…_ Yutaka thought in confusion.

She blinked. There was a certain aura in the room she normally didn't feel around Konata. Was that anxiety? Yes. Yutaka felt it. Konata was anxious but ignoring what was troubling her, probably doing her best to not think of what might have happened to her father that night.

Come to think of it, Sojiro had never told the kids what his new job was - just another reason why Konata would be worried.

"Make something tasty, then. He'll really appreciate it when he gets home" Yutaka said encouragingly. Her cousin responded with a grin before running down to make the food. The red-head sensed slight relief from the girl that left. She smiled sadly. _I hope uncle's okay…_

**LUCKY STAR**

"Geez, Misao. What did you even DO this weekend?" Kagami asked sternly as she put a wet towel on her girlfriend's forehead. "For the twelve years I've known you, not once have you ever gotten this sick before today."

"For the twelve year's I've known you, not once have you ever been this concerned about me…" Misao chucked weakly. "I should get sick more often…"

Kagami poked her cheek. "You idiot…" The twin tailed girl sighed.

Kagami decided to go to Misao's house because of the call she gave her. From the sound of her voice alone, Kagami knew she wasn't feeling well. Misao was a hard girl to bring down – even when sick, she STILL has more energy than the average human being. With that said, our little tsundere did not like the fact that Misao sounded tired. She liked even less the state in which her girlfriend was in when she got there.

 _She's looks so pained I can almost feel it myself…_ Kagami winced when Misao suddenly coughed. _It hurts to see her this way. Can't I help any more…?_

Sadly, she couldn't. She wasn't a doctor and Misao refused to go see one when Kagami suggested it. Whatever her problem was, the normally energetic girl had to face it alone – a feat Kagami believed to be unfair to her. Thus, she decided to nurse her back to health.

 _Come to think of it, Misao's right. I've never fret about her health this much before, so why am I doing it now? Maybe I care more about her than I thought… Realizing what she just though,_ Kagami shook her head _. No. It's all because of how serious her condition is… Yeah. That's the reason._

Another pained laugh escaped Misao's lips. "You're blushing…" She teased. "You look cute"

"W-well… YOU'RE blushing too, and not in a cute way, either" Kagami retorted, noting how Misao's fever was making her red. "Now stop talking and rest"

"Heh. Okay…" With a shallow breath, the sick girl agreed, not exactly in a position to argue. "Just wake me up for lunch…" She closed her eyes and drifted off into slumber

"You know, I kinda like this new sick-Misao" A voice said behind Kagami. The twin-tailed girl turned to see Masaru leaning on the door frame. "Seeing her weak like this is a breath of fresh air to be honest"

"What do you want, Masaru?" She asked dryly.

"Oh, nothing, just wanted to see her like this. It's not often she looks like shit." He chuckled before leaving. After taking two steps out of view, he leaned back in and added "We have lunch at eleven. You might want to bring the food to her than the other way around. Just sayin"

Kagami blinked. _Well… that was an uncharacteristically helpful thing to tell me…_

**LUCKY STAR**

"Good morning, Tsukasa-senpai" Minami greeted "Is Kagami-senpai with you"

"Morning, Minami-chan" Tsukasa replied cheerfully. "No. Sis had to do something"

Minami nodded and let the girl in. "Did you encounter any trouble getting here?"

The older girl thought for a bit. "Well, there were a lot of fallen leaves and pieces of metal."

Once again, Minami nodded. "The others will probably get here in a few minutes. Would you like anything?"

"Oh, where's Yuki-chan?" Tsukasa asked with a slight tilt of her head

"Miyuki-nee-chan's in the kitchen, cooking"

"Oh, wonderful! I think I'll go there for a while"

Minami pointed her in the direction of the kitchen. As the older girl ran off, Minami was once again alone in the foyer, waiting for her other guests to arrive.

Cheery, her pet dog walked up to her and sat by her side. She patted the animal's head affectionately. With a satisfied whine and a wag of its tail, Cherry lied down and went to sleep. Minami smiled _. No. Not alone…_ She continued to wait, not quite as lonely as she once was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was a chapter, wasn't it? Hope you enjoyed it. If you didn't, well, I don't blame you. It's not exactly amazing…
> 
> I'm a bit irked that I wasn't able to write the lucky channel segment two chapters ago… I want to add it but…
> 
> Ah, whatever.


	5. Of lunch and love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, 2k words worth to describe the 3 hours between 11am and 2pm. 'Of lunch and love' everybody. For what you enjoy, you're welcome; what you don't enjoy, I'm sorry.

**LUCKY STAR**

"Yo, Mina-"

"Minami!" Yutaka cut Konata's greeting by jumping into Minami's arms "I missed you"

The mint hair girl returned the hug with a neutral expression on her face. "… Good morning Yutaka. Good morning Konata-senpai" She closed her eyes slowly as she began stroking the redhead's hair.

 _Is she enjoying the hug or is she just doing it to make Yu-chan feel better?_ Konata wondered. _I'm guessing it's both but you can never tell with these stoic-types…_ She shrugged and continued inside. _If I were Tsukasa, where would I be…?_ The bluenette smiled as she thought of a destination. _The kitchen._

"Oh, Tsukaasaaaa~" Konata chimed as she entered the room. Her arrival was met with a flash followed by the smell of something burning. "… Is this a bad time…?"

"Well…" Miyuki coughed "That little experiment went quite a lot worse than I expected it to…"

"What just exploded…?" Konata asked, noting the uncomfortably large column of fire rising out of the frying pan. "… And is that the Flame of Heaven or something?"

"An attempted desert…" Miyuki sighed. "It seems we own certain ingredients that react quite violently when mixed with each other…"

"I think it was the stove" Tsukasa voiced. "It wasn't on fire before we put it on."

The pinkette nodded and proceeded to close the stove's valve. The blue flame under the pan disappeared but the raging inferno of orange and yellow over it remain alight. "… Oh dear…"

"Water?" The short girl suggested

"This is an oil based fire" Miyuki said, remembering that the ingredients did in fact include cooking oil. "I suggest we get a fire extinguisher"

"Why does it have to be a fire extinguisher?" Tsukasa asked with a tilt of her head

"Hmm…" Miyuki thought for a bit "Fire requires three things to stay alight: heat, oxygen, and something to burn. Remove one, and the fire will no longer burn. Water is used to both remove oxygen and heat from the fuel source, but since the source is oil based, water isn't very effective. We own a foam fire extinguisher which is designed to spay a foamy substance onto the fire, creating a barrier between the oxygen and fuel. These types of extinguishers are most effective is kitchens"

"Wow, Miyuki. You must know everything" Tsukasa said, once again, in awe of the glasses-girl's knowledge

"I don't know _everything._ I only know what I know" Miyuki said modestly

Konata's jaw dropped. "You… did you just…"

"I'm sorry?" The pinkette sweat dropped. That was the second time he used that phrase and the second time she got a reaction like that.

"That was an anime reference!" Konata shouted. Jumping up and down with enthusiasm.

Miyuki couldn't help but blush "Really? I never knew"

"Yes, it was! Tsubasa Hanekawa from The Monogatari series!"

"… I'm sorry I'm not familiar with anime…"

Konata sighed in defeat. Looks like, once again, she was the only one to get the references.

 _But it won't stay that way for long._ "Tsukasa, I have, in my bag, an anime that we will watch. We will watch all of it and we will do it today!" The otaku demanded, to which Tsukasa happily complied.

"Nee-san. Is lunch ready ye-" Minami and Yutaka entered the room to see an open flame the size of a basketball burning brightly on a frying pan with her three upperclassmen talking among themselves as if the fire was not real. "… You should put that out…"

Miyuki turned to the door when the mint haired girl approached. "Oh, Minami, go set the table. Lunch is ready"

"Put that out…"

"Put what out…?"

Minami just stared at the three of them. How can they idly chat when there was a veritable guarantee for a burned down house literally right in front of them?

"Oh my! I forgot!" Miyuki shouted as she remembered. She quickly ran to get the fire extinguisher. "Set the table. I'll deal with this…!"

The four of them blinked. Were they were going to set the table while Miyuki went to get the tool to put out the fire, all the while, said fire would continue to burn, virtually untouched…?

Sure. Why not?

They took the frying pan and carefully placed it so that is sat where it couldn't burn anything (at least not yet.) and began setting up the table.

**LUCKY STAR**

"Misao, I'm glad you're resting now, but it's time for lunch." Kagami, holding on to Misao's lunch, poked the sleeping girl's cheek. "Wake up… wake up…" The twin-tailed girl sighed. She went to her bag and pulled out a light novel. She sat next to Misao and began reading.

After a few minutes, Misao began to stir. "Aww man, my aching head…" She struggled to sit up. "How long was I out…?"

"A little over an hour" Kagami replied noting how the wall clock said 11:18. Kagami leaned over to the nightstand where she left the tray of food. "C'mon. You need to eat"

Once again, a pained chuckle escaped from the sick girl. "Thanks…"

With a clap of her hands and a strained "Itadakimasu", she began eating, though not quite as voraciously as she normally did.

"I'm still wondering why… you're going this far… to take care of me…" Misao said "I'm sure gramps and gran… would be fine to take care of me… on their own"

The lavender-haired girl clenched her teeth. She was doing this because of guilt – guilt she herself had caused her to feel. "I'm not a bad person, right…?" She asked quietly

Her mind may have been sluggish in understanding the question, but once she did, Misao gave an immediate answer. "Nah… You're actually pretty nice… on the inside…" She tilted her head. "Besides… You're helping me with this… aren't you…?"

"No… It's not like that…" Kagami said as she wiped some rice off of Misao's cheek. "As a girlfriend… and a bad person?"

After finishing her food, (something she could still do faster than the average teenage girl despite her apparent sickness) Misao thought for a bit. "Yes, you're a bad girlfriend." She stated bluntly.

Kagami didn't understand why but the words Misao spoke sent a pain to her heart she had never felt before. Actually, she HAD felt it before, but never that strong. _I knew it… All those things Konata told me… Words that reassured me… They were lies, weren't they…? Misao hates me… she said it herself… I'm a terrible girlfriend…_

As Kagami's mind began to spiral, Misao just stared at her, eyes unfocused. "You're a terrible girlfriend… You push me away when I try to get close… You get angry when I compliment you… You won't even return my 'I love you's…"

Kagami began to shake. Misao practically saw the twin-tailed girl's train of thought as it sped out of control – she saw but she did not understand. She continued speaking. "You're my girlfriend but you don't even love me…"

That's what did it. Kagami put her hands on her head, breathing heavy, shaking violently, and grasping at her hair with all her might. Imagine Kagami's surprise when the sick girl put her arms around her and pulled her into a hug. "But I don't care… I've been in love with you for six years… Knowing you're mine… and I'm yours… Nothing makes me happier… except being with you…"

Kagami continued shaking, but it wasn't as tense as it was before. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Not a single sob was heard from the girl but her mind was screaming. _Why!? Why do you keep doing this!? I'm a terrible girlfriend! I've lost count how many times I've said it made no sense for you to want me! Why do you keep wanting me!?_ She closed her eyes slowly in an attempt to stop the waterworks _. I don't even love you…_ Kagami opened her eyes. _Right…?_

Her shivering gained a fervent vigor _. If it hurts me so much that I don't return her feelings, why don't I?_ The image of Konata flashed upon her mind. _She has someone else. She told me herself that I have to let her go._ But no, Konata's face burned itself into her brain and refused to be forgotten. _Fine, who says I can't love two people…?_ She blinked. _I said that, didn't I…? Damn it, why am I so stupid!? I have to 'choose' one of them? Yeah right. I'll choose them both!_

Kagami began to laugh. At first it was a chuckle, but then it got louder and louder – eventually she became hysteric. "I can't believe I was being so stupid!" The returned the hug Misao was giving her. "I'll be a good girlfriend from now on Misao. Just wait and see… Misao?"

Kagami laid the girl onto the bed only to find that she was asleep. "… Well… she DID have a drowsy look on her face when she was talking to me…" The tsundere looked at the sleeping girl's face fondly. I don't think it'll be hard to fall in love with her. I think I'm already on my way…

**LUCKY STAR**

The four of them sat in the dining room, having just finished their meal.

"… well that was an awkward lunch…" Konata commented.

Yukari, despite her daughter not saying anything about her two friends, knew that Konata and Tsukasa were dating. The annoyed look on the woman's face unnerved the two as they had never seen her show such a face before.

"You're mom's a bit scary, Yuki-chan" Tsukasa said shyly.

"I apologize. She's not very fond of homosexual relationships between girls. It brings back bad memories." Miyuki explained. "It actually gave Minami and Yutaka quite a lot of trouble a few months ago."

The older couple looked that the younger and tilted their heads. Minami and Yutaka nodded. "She was all polite before but it felt as though she hated us." Yutaka said quietly. "Now, it's feels the same but somehow it's not as strong"

"Really? It felt pretty strong to me" Tsukasa noted.

"Yeah. Back then, the aura was a whole lot stronger"

"I'm sorry you had to feel that"

The two girls, unaware that the others did not share their ability to read people's feelings, continued their conversation. The three others simply stared at the two.

"So, Minami. How far have you and Yu-chan gone" Konata asked with a sly grin. Minami blushed, betraying her embarrassment despite her neutral expression. "Am I right to assume that you'd done it already?"

The mint haired girl shook her head slowly, keeping her eyes trained at Konata. The otaku took it as a challenge as she too looked the other in the eye, signature cat smile forming on her lips. "Have you at least kissed?"

Minami didn't know why, but she humored the bluenette and continued the starring contest. "… Yes. We have… What about you?"

"Yeah, us too." Konata tip-toed to bring her face closer to the taller girl (although it only reached up to her collar) "How was it? Our first kiss was particularly intense. I'm rather curious about yours"

Minami blushed "No. It was just a peck…" she looked away.

"Yes! I win!" Konata jumped.

The taller girl blinked. "What?"

"I believe you two were having a staring contest." Miyuki said. "It was rather extreme seeing as both of you have been at it for at least a minute." The pinkette sighed. "I wish I could do that too but I'm afraid too much dust might enter my eyes…"

"Oh yeah. You don't like having things on your eyes." Konata snapped her fingers when she remembered.

The phone rang in the living room, the tune resounding all around the house.

"I'll get it" Miyuki said "I'll leave you four for now"

**LUCKY STAR**

"It's such a beautiful day out today" Ayano said. "To think that just yesterday, a storm passed"

She and Masaru were having a date. They were taking advantage of the fact that there was no school that day by wandering the local area.

"It would be even better if the shops were actually open…" Masaru complained.

He did not want to spend one of his free days wandering the city with nothing to do. He would have like it better if she had chosen to invite him to her house or asked to come over. At least if she had done that he'd have something to do at the respective place. Here, though? All he could do was watch random nobodies try to fix their neighborhood.

"Hey, this place was flooded earlier. Cut them a little slack" Ayano said sternly

She had never been out and about after a storm before so it was a new experience for her to see everyone take care of the aftermath.

She did not, however, want to wander the city alone. She'd have asked her sister to join her but they hadn't been seeing eye-to-eye for months now. That said, she went to her closest friend, Misao. She was unfortunately sick, so she asked her boyfriend instead.

She knew Masaru wouldn't enjoy going with her but she held on to the slim chance that he might be fine with it. It must have been a very slim chance since it was obvious from looking just at him that Masaru was bored out of his mind.

Ayano sighed. "If you're that bored, let's just go home." She wasn't about to put him through any more torture. That would mean she'd have to offer compensation of some sorts. She lamented the fact that she used up the favors Masaru had owed her.

"Finally!" The boy said in exasperation. "Any more and I'd have to ask for a reason not to leave"

Ayano smiled "… Oh, you'd leave me, would you?"

 _Uh oh…_ "Er…Of course not" Masaru did not like it when Ayano smiled like that. A certain edge always entered her voice and it sent chills down his spine every time he heard it.

"Perhaps you wish for me to leave _you_?" She said with a slight tilt of her head

 _Leave me? Yeah, leave me for dead. Like hell would I want that_ "I was joking. Jeez"

Ayano seemed to relax "Really now? Well it wasn't very funny." She pouted.

 _It was a bad idea to make that comment._ Masaru sighed in relief. _At least we're still going home._

**LUCKY STAR**

"Yo, Miyuki. We're already halfway through the first episode! Get you sexy ass in here!"

Konata made good on what she said earlier: They were marathoning Monogatari there in the living room. The original demand was for Tsukasa to watch it with her but the little otaku was welcome to more company and asked the others to join her as well.

Of course, they all complied. It's hard to say no to Konata's pouting face – a face that might as well have been used to kill them what with its effectiveness.

"So, what was your impression on the first ep?" Konata asked as the weirdly long episode preview played in the background.

Minami was first to reply with "unique", to which the other, after a little internal deliberation, agreed was the best description.

Unique indeed. Monogatari was often described as surreal, so it's no surprise that they thought it was different.

"My only problem were the sudden text that kept flashing on the screen." Tsukasa said with a frown "What were they saying?"

"Eh… flavor text" Much to Konata's displeasure, she had paused, rewound, and played back the DVD in slow motion every time a screen for text showed up during her first watch of it. It was not worth it in her opinion. "You don't really need it for the story."

"Well, before we continue on to the next episode, who were you on the phone with Miyuki?" Konata asked with a mischievous smile "Care to share who you had twenty minutes worth of conversation with?"

"Whatever you may be thinking, I'm afraid I may disappoint you. I was speaking with Kagami." Miyuki explained "It seems she made an epiphany and decided to call me."

 _Now this is a whole lot more interesting than what I was thinking of._ Konata stood from her seat on the couch and walked to the middle of the room. "Care to expound" She said, looking back at Miyuki, tilting her head slightly. "I'd love to know more"

The pink haired glasses girl was unnerved, to say the least. No human neck should be able to do the kind of head tilts shown in the anime they were watching yet, somehow, Konata was doing it perfectly.

Nevertheless, Miyuki continued. "I'd think it best if she tells you herself. Rest assured it was good news."

Konata pouted once more in an attempt to get more information. "Can't you tell me more? Even a little bit?"

Miyuki sweat dropped. She looked at the others. They were all doing their best not to look at Konata's pleading face – they had seen it before and they didn't want to feel such weakness again. (Except Tsukasa who was apparently immune)

Miyuki looked once again to the bluenette's face. It was the eyes. They were hypnotic – piercing all of her defenses and mental barriers, stabbing at her resolve. Whatever will power Miyuki had was lost.

"She's no longer lying to herself" Miyuki said, guilt hinting the edges of her voice. "Kagami loves Misao"

This got the attention of the rest. Whatever they were thinking, it seems they were waiting on Konata's reaction before they said anything.

There was silence for a few seconds before she finally spoke. "FINALLY!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I personally liked the flavor text in Monogatari but I know not everyone does  
> Would you believe this chapter was finished between 5AM and 6AM? I'm sure you do.


	6. Its resolved but still uncertain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here, a chapter in which the characters finally end their activities for the day? Sure! Why not!? 'It's resolved but still uncertain.' Hope you enjoy it (or at least are not sickened by it)

**LUCKY STAR**

It was late afternoon in the Kusakabe residence and Kagami was bored out of her mind. A few hours earlier, Masaru and Ayano arrived. They exchanged pleasantries but paid no head to the twin tailed girl and her sick girlfriend (A bit surprising on Kagami's end as she expected Ayano to at least ask how Misao was doing). Aside from that, nothing else happened. Overall Kagami's stay was a fairly uneventful one.

"The zombie lives. How do you feel sleepy head?" Kagami asked. Misao had been asleep for around five hours at that point so her awakening was inevitable.

The fanged girl drowsily sat up and yawned. "That was the best sleep I've had in years!"

"You seemed to have gotten your energy back." Kagami noted as Misao jumped out the bed and began stretching. "Now, would you like to tell me what the hell happened to make you that sick?"

"Oh, some family reunion stuff. Unrelated. This was probably just the twenty-four hour bug or something." The no-longer-sick girl said casually. "You don't have to worry"

"Misao, earlier, you were practically dying. It's not easy for me to just 'not worry'…" Kagami said sternly. After a pause, a sigh, and a quick shake of her head, she continued. "But still… it's amazing how fast you recover. All it took was a meal and a few hours of sleep for you to go back to your old self."

Misao wasn't quite sure what was going on with Kagami but she felt something was different about her. She didn't know what it was, but she felt it – and whatever she felt, she didn't know what to make of…

"Kagami, you seem… off" Misao jumped back onto the bed and sat next to the twin tailed girl. "Is something wrong?"

"No… nothing's wrong… not anymore at least" The sad smile on her face when she said that left Misao even more confused. "… I'm sorry." The twin tailed girl said.

"Sorry? What for"

"For… for…" Kagami's voice began to shake. Whatever she wanted to say got stuck in her throat, threatening to choke her. "I… I…"

"Kagami, whatever you think you did wrong, it's fine!" Misao interpreted the girl's hesitation as the beginnings of a nervous breakdown and hugged her tightly. "Whatever it is, I'm fine with it."

Kagami blushed from the blend of emotions she felt: Frustration at her difficulty to say what she wanted to say; annoyance in regards to Misao's misunderstanding; and both embarrassment and fondness, due to the fact that she was currently in a hug with her girlfriend. The twin-tailed girl felt that she could finally say it then so she began: "No, Misao. It's not-"

Misao cut her off by holding her shoulders and saying straight to her face "No. You did nothing wrong. You hear me? You. Did. Nothing. Wrong."

"Misao, you're-"

Once again the brunette kept her from even starting her sentence. "Kagami, don't argue with me on this. You're-"

Kagami shut her up by locking lips with the girl. "Jeez, will you just shut up for three seconds and let me finish!?" The tsundere said in annoyance after she pulled away.

"… eh…?" Misao was stupefied. Her girlfriend had just given her a kiss of her own free will. Was it the end of the world or was Kagami finally warming up to her? She had the feeling she was about to find out.

"Alright" Kagami exhaled loudly. "Now what was I about to say…? Right! Misao, I'm sorry. I've been a terrible girlfriend for the entirety of our relationship. No one has to put up with that but you did."

"Aww, Kagami. Don't worry about-"

"No, let me finish." It was Misao's turn to be interrupted. "You said it yourself. I'm a terrible girlfriend. Even I can see it." The brunette began to make a comment but thought better of it. "But I plan to change that."

 _Wait… does that mean…_ The fanged girl could feel a chill down her spine

"I'm not gonna lie anymore"

 _Oh my god, it's actually happening…_ Her heart was pounding fast enough to break her ribs and burst out of her chest.

"Misao Kusakabe…"

 _OhmygodOhmygodOhmygodOhmygod!_ She was hanging on Kagami's every word. The suspense was killing her.

"… I admit it. I love you"

Misao would have screamed loud enough to disturb the neighbors if Kagami didn't pull her into another kiss at that exact moment. As the girl's excitement slowly flowed out of her at the touch of the tsundere's lips with hers, Misao closed her eyes and took a moment to appreciate what was happening.

It lasted a minute, and when it finally ended, Misao seemed to melt into the mattress.

Kagami joined her in lying down. "Don't get used to it…" She said with a blush

"That was as amazing as I remembered it…" Misao said with a stupid grin on her face, probably still high from the kiss she got. Kagami couldn't help but smile from Misao's reaction.

**LUCKY STAR**

"Ms. Akira!" Minoru called. "Ms. Akira, where are you!?"

It was close to the time for another segment of Lucky Channel but the half of the show's cast, namely the cold and cutesy female half, was nowhere to be found in the studio. Minoru Shiraishi was tasked to find the girl within the hour or else he would have to do the segment alone.

"Ms. Akira!" The boy sighed. "I wish I wasn't the only one who could convince her to do something. If that were the case, someone else could be running after her"

As he combed through the streets in search for the missing idol girl, Minoru tried to reach said girl by phone once more. When he got no response for the umpteenth time, he gave up trying her phone and returned to searching the area within walking distance of the studio.

"Akira! Ms. Akira!" Again, Minoru yelled, clinging on to the hope that the girl he was looking for was in _that_ crowd of pedestrians (as opposed to the previous ones he had tried)

"Excuse me?"

"Huh?" Minoru turned to see a girl with reddish orange hair, wearing it in a ponytail. Her face reminded him of a girl who went to his school.

After seeing the look Minoru gave her she seemed to grow more relaxed "I'm guessing I'm not the Akira you're looking for?" With a relieved sigh she continued "You seem like you're having some trouble. Need some help?"

"Uh…" Minoru checked his watch. _Thirty minutes till the show starts. If I don't find her in half that time, we won't make it…_ While he found it a bit weird for a stranger to be helping him, he saw no reason not to accept this woman's offer. "Sure. My name's Minoru Shiraishi." He bowed slightly

Bowing as well, the girl introduced herself as well. "I'm Akira Minegishi. Who are we looking for?"

Minoru's mind immediately went to the orange haired girl with the big forehead from Class 3-C the moment the name Minegeshi came up but with sudden push, he swept the thought under a mental rug. He could think of the relationship between this woman and his schoolmate later. He had bigger - rather, smaller - things to deal with. "We're looking for a little girl with salmon hair. She's wearing a bright red hoodie over a white blouse and dark blue skirt."

"Okay then. Give me your email" the girl said, taking out her cellphone.

"Right"

After a brief exchange of contact information, the two split up to search for the girl. It didn't take long for one of them to find the missing Akira Kogami.

[Minoru, I found her. She was at the train station waiting for the next train. I'm taking her in front of that family restaurant near the intersection where we met.]

Minoru flipped his phone closed and took the shortest route he could think of to get to said restaurant, making use of many back alleys and multiple entrance stores for shortcuts.

"Akira!" The moment he saw the little redhead girl in front of the restaurant, Minoru made a beeline for her. He took her in his arms and held her close. "Are you okay? What happened?"

" _I'm fine. Jeez…_ " Akira said with a sneer. After a brief pause, her expression softened "… I'm sorry I ran away"

"Eh, don't worry about it. I'm used to it." Minoru said reassuringly. He looked to the older Akira "Thank you, Minegishi-san."

"It's fine. I'm glad you and your daughter were reunited" She said

The smaller and, at the time, noticeably meaner Akira's mood soured immediately. She broke free of Minoru's hug and turned to face the other Akira. " _Excuse me? What the fuck did you just say?_ "

"Uh…" The older Akira looked at the smaller girl with shock. She glanced at Minoru with a face that practically screamed _Did she really just say that?_

" _I'm fourteen years old. FOURTEEN_ " She pointed at Minoru " _He's eighteen. What the FUCK made you think he was my father!?_ "

"I… uh…"

" _Are you blind? Do you have eyes made of shit? How do we, in any way, look related?_ " The younger Akira was on a roll. She knew she was only digging herself deeper but she couldn't stop.

The older Akira smiled "Maybe you'd like to cut me some slack? After all, we've only just met, and I doubt insulting strangers is something smiled upon" Her voice gained and icy edge to it, like the cold steel of a katana – her words were elegant, precise, and sharp enough to cut someone's soul. "Perhaps you'd like to tell me what your relationship with Mr. Shiraishi _really_ is? I'd hate to have a misunderstanding again as I handle them very… messily, if you know what I mean."

As the younger Akira paled, Minoru smirked. _Yup. She and Ayano are related. They have to be._ The boy stepped in before the salmon haired girl received any more potentially traumatizing passive-aggressive threats. "I am this girl's manager and co-host." He said "This here is Akira Kogami, an idol famous among otaku. No, we have no relation other than business"

The older Akira gave a genuine smile this time "Thank you for clearing that up. Anyway, I'd better be off. See you" With a small wave, she left the two

After a few econds of just idly standing, watching the girl walk away, the younger Akira suddenly glared a Minoru _"… Alright, what is your relationship with that terrifying woman?_ " It seems she recovered quickly from the little scare the older Akira had given her.

"I met her on the street while looking for you." Minoru said sternly. Akira recoiled at the lecturing tone of his words. "Speaking of which, we need to get back to the studio" He held out his hand.

Akira frowned and took the hand reluctantly. "Right… sorry…"

**LUCKY STAR**

"Well, what did you think" Konata asked the four.

They had been watching anime for six straight hours, marathoning Bakemonogatari.

"It was rather nice. I found the story and art style appealing" Miyuki commented

"It was so cool!" Yutaka gushed

"Unique…" Minami said simply.

"The story's not finished" Tsukasa noted "I want to know what happens next"

"Yes, but alas, we cannot continue. We have school tomorrow." Konata said solemnly, and then added "Besides, I didn't bring the other DVDs"

"If you wish, you could stay for dinner" Miyuki offered

"Sorry, but I'll have to decline" The blunette said quickly. "No offence, but I don't really want to have another meal with your mom"

"I suppose that's not unreasonable." The pinkette sighed. As she walked the three to the door she said "You're welcome to come back any time"

"Thanks Miyuki", "Thank you Yuki-chan", "Thank you Miyuki-senpai" they said in unison.

With a smile and a wave (and a goodbye kiss on the check for Minami and Yutaka), they left the Takara house.

Their way to the station was walked in silence until Yutaka spoke up. "Do you think Uncle Sojiro's home yet?"

Konata smiled sadly "Hope so"

Tsukasa was distressed by the conversation. _What are they talking about? Hasn't Konata's dad come home yet? There was a storm yesterday. What happened to him?_

Whatever anxiety the younger Hiiragi felt was immediately detected by Yutaka. Truth be told, Yutaka was worried as well but felt it wasn't a good idea to show it. "Don't worry Tsukasa-senpai. I'm sure he's okay"

"Yeah. He's fine. Completely fine" Konata said.

She was convincing herself and Tsukasa couldn't fathom why she was ignoring the problem. She was about to point it out when she noticed Yutaka glance at her.

While most of the details were lost in the translation of Yutaka's facial expressions to an actual understandable sentence – their ability is to sense people's emotions do not equate mind reading – the message was received. _Don't._ Her look said. _Not yet. It's only been a day. We're not sure whether or not he's gone missing._

The urge to argue was strong but the lavender haired girl resisted. Whatever happened to Sojiro Izumi, she could do nothing about it but worry – and worry was something the two smaller girls were probably trying to lessen.

Their walk continued in silence.

**LUCKY STAR**

"I'm home!" Kagami heard from down stairs.

 _That must be Tsukasa. I wonder where she went off to… probably another date with Konata or something_. With the stretch of her arms, she closed her text book and stood up. _I've been pretty diligent with my studying so far. I guess I can afford a break right about now._

She opened the door to her room to reveal another door sliding closed. She turned back to her room to look at the clock. 7:20. _Pretty late… What DID she do anyway?_ Kagami decided to find out. She knocked on her sister's door.

After receiving no response, she opened the door and walked in. What she walked into was her sister changing. Thankfully, they were sisters (and both girls for that matter) so walking in on each other in the nude wasn't much of a problem.

"Yo" Kagami said as she sat down on Tsukasa's bed

Speaking of Tsukasa, the said twin was in the middle of taking off her shirt. She got her head stuck in the hole and was having trouble getting it off. When she finally did, only then did her sister's greeting register to her brain. "Oh, good evening Onee-chan"

Kagami chuckled "Had a bit of trouble there?"

Tsukasa frowned and looked at the shirt. "I think it's too small for me now…" She sighed "This was my favorite too…"

After giving her sister the once-over, Kagami sighed as well. "You've been growing pretty fast lately" And then added in a mutter "… more than I've been growing, that's for sure…"

Once Tsukasa finally got changed Kagami asked her to sit down. The younger twin knew her sister was about to tell her something important and sat down with no question. "Tsukasa, you know-" She was suddenly interrupted by their mother calling them for dinner. "Never mind. We'll talk about it after dinner."

Kagami stood and walked out the door, feeling more awkward than she'd like. Tsukasa was left in her room, confused.

**LUCKY STAR**

"Evening Konata, Yutaka…"

Konata and Yutaka had just arrived home and their walk to the kitchen was met with the warm smile of Sojiro Izumi.

Konata immediately dropped everything she was carrying and ran straight for her father. "Dad!" The said father picked her daughter up as she jumped into his arms. Konata was almost crying. Then, she suddenly shifted her weight, swinging around the man using her arms and legs. After a split second of acrobatics, Sojiro was on the lying face on the floor and arms held behind his back - pinned by his own daughter. "Dad, where've you been!? Do you have any idea how worried we were!?"

"Forgot… you could do that…" Sojiro said as pain shot through his shoulders and chest – the arm lock was working, it meant. Konata was a whole lot stronger that her size would lead people to believe "I'm sorry I wasn't able to get home. I wasn't able to finish work until the storm hit, and by then, I didn't think I'd be able to get home anyway. My coworker offered to drive me home but I lived a lot farther away than he did. I just decided to stay where I worked. I woke up the next day and work resumed."

Konata's eyes narrowed "That's a bit of a flimsy excuse…"

"It's the truth, I swear!"

Yutaka watched the two on the floor. Despite the anger she felt from Konata, she also felt an incredible amount of relief. Sojiro on the other hand… The smaller girl felt he was telling the truth, but it didn't feel complete. She couldn't quite place what it was, but she knew her uncle was hiding something.

But Yutaka kept it to herself. One, she didn't have the courage to speak up about it; two, she didn't want to sour the sweet moment the two bluenettes were having.

The Izumis were both sitting on the floor now, smiling, laughing, and overall, happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, a return of three characters I doubt anyone wanted to see, the resolution of two major problems or main characters were facing. There are still a lot of things unresolved and most likely, more things to resolve.
> 
> In any case, I hope you all enjoyed


End file.
